Between Light and Darkness
by Tsukinon
Summary: NEW AND IMPROVED! Upon Dark's return, he runs into a previous acquaitance. But even Dark Mousy's charm can't phase this new girl, who only wants to remain in the shadows. Dark now has some competition when it comes to being a Phantom Thief in this town.


**-dances- OMG YAY!!! This story has been revived X3 I'm so happy! It's taken me FOREVER to redo this chapter, and I had to end up dividing it up anyway. (It was about 8 pages on MS word in 10 pt. font!) Anyway, enjoy the new and improved "Missing Link", I even changed the title xD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own DNAngel, unfortunately.**

* * *

It was chaos again in the French Quarter. Just by glancing at all the police cars with their lights flashing, filing past the indifferent locals and startled tourists, you would think it was the night of a Mardi Gras parade, even in the middle of August. The black-and-white NOPD vehicles came to a halt in front of an ancient art gallery, blocking the view from the gathering crowd. A policeman spoke with the shaken owner of the gallery, who handed him a note that he had found that evening. As the officials attempted to calm the gathering swarm by shouting through megaphones and the Channel 6 newsteam set up their cameras, a winged figure kneeled on the rooftop of a nearby building, appearing to be only a statue.

Carefully, she turned the marble dragon statue over on her palm so that its smooth edges shone in the faint moonlight. Further security of the art gallery was useless now, but the feeble efforts of securing the building were mildly entertaining. After all, it would be quite some time before she could witness scenes like this once more.

"Goodbye New Orleans," she whispered softly into the night. "Tomorrow I will return to my homeland, and you may never see me again." She smirked and stood up, lifting into the starry darkness on silver wings.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Daisuke skidded to a halt in front of the classroom door, just as the bell rang. _Why_ did those feathers have to re-appear in the basement _today_? Sure, it was a big deal, but couldn't it just wait for _tonight_? Well, maybe not… In any case, he still wouldn't shake off the sights of his family's concerned expressions.

But just as soon as Daisuke sat down and put his forehead wearily on his desk, familiar footsteps thundered closer.

"Hey, Daisuke!" Takeshi Saehara yelled, "You all right?"

Daisuke groaned and sat up to face his friend. "Yeah…I'm all right," he replied. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Well, don't fall asleep now!" Saehara commanded excitedly. "Today's news is freakin' huge! Did you hear? Kaitou Dark's coming back! Tonight, at 10:30!"

He was immediately surrounded by a cluster of chattering Dark fans, who had been eagerly awaiting Dark's return for quite some time now.

"Ooh, really?"

"What time?"

"Oh no! I have to work tonight!"

"Pssh, sucks for you."

"Dark's so hot!"

"I know! I can't wait to see him again!"

"Ladies, ladies!" Saehara said almost pleadingly, holding a hand up to stop the onslaught of rabid fangirls. But almost in a self-contradictory way, he then said, "Please calm down! But to ease the wait for his arrival, why don't you buy some of the eight-by-tens I have here of your beloved thief?" He was nearly mauled again as the girls instantly tried to snatch up the photos. Luckily for Takeshi, the attack was then halted by the entrance of the teacher through the classroom door.

"Now class, settle down," she said loud enough to be heard over the commotion. The students reluctantly obeyed and took their seats, uninterested in beginning the day's lesson. The teacher moved to he middle of the room, in front of the desk. A brown-haired, petite girl, who had gone unnoticed until just then, timidly followed her. The class slightly craned their necks to get a better view of the newcomer, but sat normally in their seats when the teacher cast them a stern gaze.

"Class, this is Hanao Kasumi. She and her family just came here from America, so please try and help her feel more at home here."

As Kasumi bowed to the class and muttered a brief "Hello," the other students glanced at each other warily, hoping against all odds that this wouldn't be a circumstance similar to that of Mio Hio. But judging from Kasumi's near-silence, that wouldn't be the case.

When the teacher told her to take a seat at an unoccupied desk, Kasumi nodded politely and took a seat next to Riku Harada. Riku smiled kindly and Kasumi returned it, seemingly distracted by her own thoughts. Her hair was pulled into low pigtails, giving her a slightly childish look despite her athletic build. Her large brown eyes darted around the room, taking in the unfamiliar environment. They lingered for a moment on Daisuke, and then on Satoshi Hiwatari. When her gaze remained on the bespectacled classmate, her eyes narrowed slightly, but her stare moved on and the expression vanished almost instantly as the lesson started.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Well, isn't this a familiar feeling?" Dark commented, taking in the swarm of chaos on the ground below as he descended toward the art museum. News teams set up equipment, police squads scattered around the building like land mines, spotlights shone into the sky, and the fans were cheering, _very loudly_.

"_Yes, it is_," Daisuke sighed. "_Glad you're back, though. I think Wiz is, too._"

"Of course, who wouldn't be?" Dark replied with a smirk.

"_Dark, why do you always have to be so self-centered_?"

"I dunno, I just feel like it. And here we are," Dark said as he lighted down on the museum's roof. "Brings back memories."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Inspector Saehara crumpled the two nearly identical letters in his fist. They both read, _"Tonight at 10:57, I will steal the _Horseman's Nightmare _from the museum."_ Of course, one was signed by the infamous Kaitou Dark Mousy. The other, however, bore an unfamiliar signature. This was the reason why Saehara confronted Satoshi Hiwatari at that moment, hoping that the young Chief Commander may hold some clues to this "second thief's" identity.

Satoshi stood nearby with his arms crossed, gazing at the airborne figure at the point of convergence of the spotlights. "So, you say that someone named Miu also left a note, saying the same thing as Dark's?" he asked Saehara.

Saehara nodded. "How much would you know about this 'Miu' character anyway?"

"Only that she disappeared from Japan about fifty years ago, and hasn't been seen in the country since. She has some connection with Dark, but I'll need to look further into this before I can give you the details."

This was definitely different. Saehara grunted impatiently, mulling over what Satoshi had just said. So, there was a _female_ phantom thief involved now, eh? Dark actually had some competition for once…and not only that, Saehara could tell that the Chief Commander wasn't revealing all he knew. As always, that kid was hiding something.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dark frowned as he waited for a spotlight to pass by the nearby window so that he could continue down the hallway. This was no fun; all the security alarms had apparently been somehow disabled, and he occasionally passed unconscious guards. Just trying to get past all the security during heists was what made them interesting. But why was he complaining? Whoever came here before was only making it easier.

Of course, Daisuke was concerned. _"This is really weird,_" he told Dark. _"Who could've done this?"_

"I'm sure we'll see in just a minute," Dark said quietly. He had a hunch of who was responsible, but he doubted it. It'd been years since the last time she appeared, but then again, who ever said it was impossible that she would come back?

The phantom thief entered a small room, its walls lined with glass cases showing off the glitters of several pieces of antique jewelry. A few more glass cases were scattered throughout the room, yet still allowing enough floor space to occupy a fairly large crowd during the daylight hours. Dark moved silently across the room, stopping in front of a small glass case situated directly in the center of the floor. The label beneath the glass confirmed that this was the display for _the Horseman's Nightmare_ amethyst pendant. Almost expectedly, the pendant wasn't anywhere in sight.

Just then, a slight movement from behind caught Dark's attention. He whirled around to see a tall, thin figure leaning against the doorway. A silver chain dangled from her fingers in front of her, with a deep purple pendant swinging back and forth, a dark silhouette of a rearing horse glittered from the violet depths. The figure that held the necklace looked up with deep blue eyes.

"Long time no see, Dark," she said, seemingly indifferent to his arrival.

Dark blinked, trying to hide a smirk. So he was right, and so were the rumors flying around the media. "Hello Miu," he replied. Her gaze hardened slightly, but she remained silent. Dark, however, took a few steps closer.

"Would you mind handing over that pendant?" he asked, although he knew it was pointless. "I do have a reputation to keep up, even if I have been gone for a little while."

Miu turned her head slightly to the side, glaring at Dark though the corner of her eye as she snatched up the pendant, the chain still woven through her fingers. Her long jet-black hair shifted to reveal the slightly pointed tips of her ears. "And why would I do that?" she inquired.

Dark paused, slightly annoyed, and crossed his arms. During Miu's absence, he had almost forgotten her impossible stubbornness. "Do you really think that I would just _let_ you have it?"

"I could ask _you_ the same thing." She stepped away from the wall, moving into a beam of moonlight that shone through a nearby window. "No one can hold up a reputation forever, now, can they?"

"What do you think I've been doing while you were gone?" Dark asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was doing perfectly fine in America," Miu replied calmly, "And if I'm not mistaken, you actually vanished for a few months. But now that we've been pitted against each other, I intend to be the victor."

Dark gave a snort of laughter. "Oh really? I can almost guarantee that I'll be the one that ends up with the necklace tonight."

Miu said nothing, but instead moved to the window and peered out at the authorities below. "The police are coming," she muttered. "Tch. Arguing with you is a waste of time." With that, she turned on her heel and darted from the room.

"_Why are you just standing here, Dark?"_ Daisuke asked frantically. _"Shouldn't we go after her?"_

"Of course we should," Dark said, rolling his eyes. He sped down the hallway after Miu, only to find her running up a flight of stairs, the amethyst glinting in her palm. The chase continued to the building's roof, where Dark found Miu standing on the edge of the building.

"_Don't let her jump!"_ Daisuke warned, close to panicking. Dark ignored him, knowing the other thief's intentions. Miu looked back and grinned as two silvery wings appeared on her back.


End file.
